


your smile is my treat

by softestbreads



Series: cozy pastries [4]
Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 19:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18708733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softestbreads/pseuds/softestbreads
Summary: you were determined to find out what your boyfriend’s favorite pastry was, no matter how much or long it took.





	your smile is my treat

**Author's Note:**

> a lovely anon came into my inbox on tumbles and asked for something soft with therion in a bakery au... so here it is!

As a baker, you often prided yourself in your ability to know every single one of your customers’ tastes exactly - after all, you catered to their needs and provided the best service possible.

But with your Therion… he was a bit fickle with admitting what he liked. Whenever you had inquired him, no matter how sweetly and annoyingly, he still would not budge for an answer. You did manage to turn his cheeks turn crimson underneath the big scarf he covered himself with, and due to the close proximity of your faces, you could even feel the heat radiating off Therion’s cherry face as you simply melted at how soft he was - and without realizing it, you had reached out to your beloved’s other cheek and turned him to face you (you swore you did not even realize his shy, yet loud protests and scowling face) and pressed your lips against his.  
  
_(and being starved for affection, despite how embarrassed therion felt, he instantly melted back into your kiss as you two started to move your lips together, not wanting to part with you as he breathed through his nose and kissed you for as hard as he could, and for as long as he could.)_  
  
Despite any action you took, you could never really push an answer from him. Eventually, you had stopped pressing him about it, but you were still grumpy about not knowing what he liked best. Although you were overjoyed when he was willing (and quite happy) to eat whatever sweets or pastries you had made for your bakery the day before, he still refused to say which one was his favorite. No matter what pastry you would present to him, you would get such a reply as he (eagerly) ate it:  
  
“All of them are my favorite,” he mumbled shyly out when you asked him for the umpteenth time while you two were sitting by the kitchen table, “is that a good enough answer?”  
  
You huffed out in exasperation, but your cheeks were a dusty red because of the little compliment he paid you. “No! You have to tell me what you like the best so I can spoil you rotten, silly!”  
  
Upon seeing that you were the one who was embarrassed however, the crafty thief suddenly became a lot smugger than you wanted him to be. “A thief can’t tell his secrets - and it’d be hard to move around if I’m constantly stuffed by your pastries, dear,” he stood up from the chair he was sitting on, then suddenly went close in front of your face, fanning his hot breath against your face as he whispered breathlessly:  
  
“But you know what taste I absolutely adore? You can spoil me rotten once you take a step into our shared quar-“  
  
Your cheeks and ears flushed red completely as you felt steam around your flustered expression, immediately slamming your hands on the table and running back into the kitchen - there was something in the oven you forgot to take out, apparently, and you had to go get it immediately or else it would burn and the fire alarm will go off and cause a havoc and-  


Therion simply took his fork and ate the last piece of the strawberry cheesecake you baked for him, a shit-eating grin plastered across his satisfied expression as he savored the lovely taste of your work.

* * *

You found out that Therion liked apple-baked pastries accidentally, actually.

While Ophilia was a cleric, she also often came by your bakery to learn how to bake so she could bake goods for the children and the people whenever they had no food - and of course, to help you with tasks that would be a lot faster if you had an extra hand. Feeling particularly overworked today (you had a huge order to go through today, you didn’t realize how many cakes Alfyn actually needed until you scanned through his order with less sleep under your eyes), you had asked Ophilia if she could tend to the bakery for a bit while you took a break inside to replenish with any leftover baked goods you left for yourself.

“If you need me for anything, then just call me alright, Phili?” You wiped away some sweat from your brow before sighing, and Ophilia took some tissue to clean the sweat that the summer heat has inflicted upon you.

“Yes, of course!” Her soft enthusiasm was always so adorable, and you admired how approachable and dependable she always was. “I’ll be sure to keep the place in tip-top shape.”

You gave a grin of your own and patted Ophilia’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine - it’s not too busy around this time of day, but just be mindful, yeah?” The cleric nods, and you visibly slouched as you were finally able to relax. “Thanks, Phili - I owe you one.”

“It’s no big deal at all!” she simply giggled, “take care and get some rest, okay [Name]?”

“I will!”

And although you had retreated to the little home connected to your bakery to relax and make a quick meal for lunch, you had totally forgotten that you had left your notebook filled with lists of bakery orders outside with Ophilia (damn, you only just realized when you just took a seat on the chair after your noodles finished cooking) - and you could only heave out a big sigh.

 _Today’s so tiring already…_ you thought to yourself, feeling yourself slump on the chair as you ceased to think temporarily.

 _Nothing I can do about it though, I guess I have to suck it up until the end of the day…_ you pushed yourself out from the kitchen chair you were sitting, standing up so you could start to walk back to your bakery. As you reached out for the doorknob to twist it ever so slightly for just a crack of the air in the bakery to escape into your home, you suddenly felt yourself stop when you heard Ophilia’s voice laughing alongside another rather familiar voice.

_(it was therion, of course - you could recognize that gruff, yet somewhat soft tone anywhere no matter where you were put amongst even a huge crowd. the question arose, though - what was he doing here? while he loved your bakery and goods, he rarely came to see you in case of a risk of an enemy tailing him (but you would sometimes tease him that he was just shy to admit that he liked sweets - to which he scoffed, of course) or he was too busy during the hours you were open.)_

“You just missed [Name] - they were here a while ago, but needed a break after doing a rather monstrous amount of cakes Alfyn ordered,” you could hear Ophilia giggle, alongside a barely audible sigh that presumably came from Therion.

You could come out now, you thought to yourself - it was a rare occurrence whenever he would be at your bakery like this, and coming out wouldn’t hurt anyone-

But you stopped dead in your tracks from twisting the doorknob completely when you heard the sound of one of your chairs being pushed against the floor, alongside Therion’s voice that piped out: “Thanks for the small snack. You’re pretty sharp for knowing my favorite, huh?”

 _Wait, what?_ You were stunned for a moment, the gears moving inside your head as you registered what he had said. Did he perhaps like what Ophilia gave him-

“We used to travel all the time together - how could I now know what everyone likes at this point?” There was that angelic laugh that rang out again, Ophilia’s voice saying _‘have a nice day!’_ amongst her little giggles as the thief bade his goodbyes once he finished.

And as Ophilia shook her head gently and took one of the clean rags from the back to clean the glass display, she jumped and squeaked a little upon hearing you slam the door open.

Your eyes started to scan around the place immediately - perhaps Therion left some leftover of whatever he ate? - pacing around your bakery, you looked at his table and inspected his place, and then paced around to look for any more clues again. _What did he have?_ You pondered in your head, your hand coming up to rub your chin in order to focus on what you heard from inside the house-

“Did you happen to hear our conversation, [Name]?” You sharply turned to look at her, but then immediately looked sheepish (you had forgotten she was there for a moment due to how hyper-focused you were), and then did an apologetic bow.

“Oh! Phili, I’m so sorry for just barging in and scaring you like that…” You apologized, now rubbing the back of your head with your hand bashfully. “And yeah… I heard you two. I was gonna go out, I promise, but then I realized something when you two were speaking and I-”

The gentle cleric dropped her rag on top of the counter and raised her hands to shake them vehemently. “Please, it’s quite alright - I think I know where you're getting at!”

_H-Huh?_

“Before he left, I actually just gave him half of my apple-” Ophilia took out the other half of the apple she was holding, and then took a knife from the back of the kitchen as well. “I usually cut them into little bunny shapes, and I noticed how much he liked apples. Back when we were traveling,” a nostalgic expression washed over her face, “it was easy to find apples and probably some of the simplest, yet sometimes best meal we had if we were low on funds.”

Your widened eyes dropped slightly due to sympathy - you knew their past travels had them overcome many hardships and problems they dealt with in their pasts, and it definitely was not an easy journey.

_(you wondered if ophilia had the same scars therion did underneath her thick, white robes - you remembered running your fingers through his rough, calloused, and scar-covered skin, kissing them gently as if you could heal them and lift them away from his body. in spirit, he felt like you really did cure them.)_

“I see,” you murmured out an answer, now a lot quieter.

_(you understood what had unraveled throughout time for the present to be what it was today.)_

“Oh, but please don’t dwell on it,” Ophilia cut off your train of thoughts, snapping you out from your reverie as you looked up at her. “The past is the past - and you know,” there’s a mischievous smile that played on her lips, unusually uncharacteristic of her, “you know what Therion’s favorite is now, don’t you?”

Her smile was contagious, blossoming a smile of your own on your lips. “Do you wanna help me bake some apple goods?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” and you two rushed out to the markets that day, preparing as much as you could before your boyfriend could return home in your care.

* * *

The look on Therion’s face when he came home to a bunch of apple pastries presented on the kitchen table was hilarious.

“Guess who found out your favorite~” You almost sang out in that teasing voice of yours, eyes glittering with excitement as you stared at your gaping and (very) adorable thief.

“W… who told you…?” It came out almost like a stutter, a question full of shocked wonder (Therion was never easy to catch off-guard, and when you did manage to, all you wanted to do was to kiss it away.)

The warm laughter that escaped your throat seemed to fill Therion’s heart whole alongside the cheerful atmosphere that lingered in the house. “Let’s just say a little angel descended and told me how much you liked bunny-cut apples,” and although you couldn’t see it, Therion’s ears turned beet red under his fluffy, white hair, “and we worked together to make your favorite snack even better!”

 _That Ophilia…_ he grumbled in his head, hiding his face in his thick scarf and refused to look at you, about to overheat in embarrassment until-

A fork with a portion of apple pie was offered in front of his face, with your hand waving over it so you could catch his attention. “C’mon Therion, try some! We worked really hard for you today, and the least you can do is try it!”

And as he looked up at you shyly, seeing the pouty expression on your face melted his heart all over again.

Never in his life did he expect to be included in a family with 7 other people across Osterra, their lives strongly interwoven with each other despite their journeys being over.

Never in his life did he expect to meet the love of his life so early on in his life, with them spoiling and caring for him when no one else had ever done for him when he was much younger.

“Alright, alright, sheesh - let me just pull my scarf down!”

And never in his life would he ever refuse anything from you, happiness trailing his steps - the demons of his past unfazed for as long as you were by his side, forever and always.


End file.
